Vortex scattering in the Abelian Higgs model

A new model of vortex dynamics is presented for the Abelian Higgs theory. Numerical simulations show that scattering of two vortices depends on the phase gradient of the complex Higgs field. This model explains numerous observations, including the decay of an n = 2 vortex, velocity-dependent vortex scattering and orthogonal scattering of type I and II vortices. A velocity-dependent self-force, arising from non-uniform phase winding, is found to govern scattering for critically coupled vortices. These results may provide insights into the analytical derivation of the metric on the 2-vortex moduli space.